A decade of global change and community partnership

Design with a purpose

IU's Jon Racek is teaming with a school in Rwanda to make practical, yet life-changing, 3D printed objects.

Fred Shema never expected to lose his hand and part of his arm at the age of 11. He had no idea the small, circular item he found as a child living in Rwanda was actually a grenade that would detonate and take his right hand.

He also never thought that eight years later he would meet a man from Indiana University who would give him not only a new arm, but a new outlook on life.

"I am so happy," Shema said as he showed off the 3D-printed arm created by Jon Racek. "I feel like I have an arm again. I never thought I would have that. I am just so happy."

Designing for a purpose

Before coming to IU's School of Art, Architecture + Design as a senior lecturer, Jon Racek ran an architecture and furniture design firm in Los Angeles and Boston. His work was exhibited all over the world, featured in The New York Times and Time magazine and recognized through multiple awards.

But after 10 years, Racek decided he wanted to design with more of a purpose. He sold his firm, and he and his wife set off for a new adventure in Thailand. In a town called Mae Sot, along the Thai/Burmese border, Racek connected with an Australian man building playgrounds in a migrant camp. For a short time, the two joined forces.

Description of the following video:

[Words appear: Indiana University presents]

[Video: An Indiana University student and a Rwandan man work together to paint tires vibrant colors at a playground for children in Rwanda.]

[Video: Close-up of a tire being painted yellow at a children's playground in Rwanda.]

[Video: Indiana University's Jon Racek and his student are sitting at a table in a laboratory, at Indiana University Bloomington, using tools to assemble prosthetic hands.]

[Video: Close-ups of Racek's and the student's hands are seen as they are using these tools to build the prosthetic hands.]

[Video: Racek shows a young Rwandan man how to use his new prosthetic hand.]

[Video: Racek shows a young Rwandan woman how to use her new prosthetic hand.]

[Video: Racek puts a prosthetic hand on to a Rwandan toddler, who sits on his mother's lap. The mother watches Racek so she can learn how to properly fit the hand to her son.]

[Video: Racek shows a young Rwandan man how to use his new prosthetic hand. The teen is sitting while Racek is standing and showing him the proper way to bend his arm with the new prosthetic hand on. The teen smiles at Racek.]

[Video: Racek shows a young Rwandan woman how to use her new prosthetic hand.]

[Video: Jon Racek, a senior lecturer in comprehensive design at the School of Art, Architecture + Design, appears on camera.]

Racek speaks: So, in Rwanda, we've been doing a couple of different projects. Over the course of the year, we 3D printed some prosthetic hands, and we are giving those out. We learned more about the students and their back stories, about why they lost hands. The four students that we talked to, two had been born without hands. Two had lost their hands after finding grenades, which I didn't know before.

[Video: Racek puts a prosthetic hand on to a Rwandan toddler, who sits on his mother's lap. The mother watches Racek as he makes adjustments.]

[Video: Racek does a fist bump with a young Rwandan man who returns the fist bump using his new hand.]

[Video: Racek and an Indiana University doctoral student show a young Rwandan man how to use his new prosthetic hand. The teen is sitting while Racek and the student are standing, showing him the proper way to bend his arm with the new prosthetic hand on.]

[Video: A young Rwandan man holds a water bottle in his new prosthetic hand.]

[Video: Racek appears on camera.]

Racek speaks: The students have been pretty happy with getting the prosthetics. It's always super rewarding. There's always a lot of work, and I tend to focus on getting the job done, but there's always nice movements when you can kind of sit back and recognize that you've done something, hopefully, to make people's lives better.

[Video: A happy young Rwandan man, who has just received a new prosthetic hand, hugs Racek, thanking him.]

In 2010, Racek moved to Bloomington, Indiana, and began teaching design at Indiana University. He later founded Play360, a nonprofit organization that builds playgrounds in impoverished areas throughout the world, including Peru, the Philippines, Zanzibar, Guatemala, Thailand, Haiti and Africa.

He is also teaching students, and future up-and-coming designers, that design can have a bigger purpose.

"I feel a real responsibility to teach my students that design can change communities and people's lives for the better in both big and small ways," Racek said.

Books and Beyond

In 2017, Racek teamed up with IU's Books and Beyond program to build a playground at Kabwende Primary School in Kinigi, Rwanda.

One by one, they showed up: 14-year-old Daniel, who lost his hand to a grenade; 3-year-old James, who was born without a left hand and wrist; 16-year-old Vzneranda, who was born without her right hand; and 19-year-old Shema.

They were shy at first, with no idea what to expect. But as Racek adjusted the Velcro straps, securing the mechanical arms to their bodies, and showed them that bending their upper arm would cause the hand to open and close, smiles and relief slowly crept up on their faces.

For James' mom, the hand represented hope that her son will be able to do all of the things other children his age do. For Daniel, it was having the ability to pick up a water bottle or shake someone's hand. For Shema, it is the opportunity to feel whole again.

"The things he's done, is so amazing," said Leocadie Nyirambunigaba, Daniel's mother. "We are very happy."

Though most of his attention is usually focused on the logistics of design and execution, Racek was inspired by hearing some of the backstories of the children receiving the arms and their reactions to their new limb.

"I think it's always rewarding to see the end result," he said. "There's always a lot of work, and I tend to sort of focus on getting the job done. But there's always nice moments when you can kind of sit back and recognize that you've done something, hopefully, to make people's lives better."

Description of the following video:

[Words appear: Indiana University presents]

[Video: Indiana University's Jon Racek is helping build a playground at a school in Rwanda.]

[Video: Close-up of hands holding pieces of colorful wood, as a person is using a hammer to nail them together.]

[Video: Racek watches and advises an Indiana University student on how to use a saw to cut a tire that will be used as part of a children's playground in Rwanda.]

[Video: Close-up of 3D-printed objects and tools used to assemble these objects.]

[Video: Jon Racek, a senior lecturer in comprehensive design at the School of Art, Architecture + Design, appears on camera.]

Racek speaks: What we're trying to do is fill a void here in Rwanda. You can easily buy lots of basic items. But things that are more specialized, that are a little bit more complex are harder to find. Sometimes you can get them in other countries, but shipping is an issue, and expense is an issue.

[Video: Racek is carrying a 3D printer. He's walking in to a high school in Rwanda with the machine.]

[Video: Racek shows a group of Rwandan teachers and an Indiana University doctoral student how to use the 3D printer. They watch him intently.]

[Video: Close-up of a corn sheller tool that is designed to remove corn from a cob quickly. A man's hands are shown as he uses the sheller. A Rwandan teacher smiles while he uses the corn sheller. Corn falls from a cob onto a table as it is being shelled.]

[Video: Racek and his student are sitting at a table in a laboratory at Indiana University Bloomington, using tools to assemble prosthetic hands.]

[Video: Close-ups of Racek's and the student's hands can be seen as they are using these tools to build the prosthetic hands.]

[Video: Close-up of a 3D printer in use at the Indiana University Bloomington laboratory.]

[Video: Racek shows a group of Rwandan teachers and an Indiana University doctoral student how to use the 3D printer. They watch him intently.]

[Video: Racek appears on camera.]

Racek speaks: So what we're trying to do with the 3D printer is set up a lab, whereas the school and the community are able to print certain objects that might be helpful. So, for instance, we have a corn sheller, which was designed by a student at MIT, and that allows people to take the corn off the cob. Now they do it by hand, and it takes about 15 minutes per cob to get the corn off. And with this corn sheller, it's a rotating motion, and the corn just falls right off. It takes about 30 seconds, so we're saving people a lot of time. Initially, we're making objects that they can choose from. But in the future, we will be working closely with my students at IU, and the community here will describe the specific local problems that they have. My students will design and prototype using a 3D printer back in the U.S. and when they have something that works, they will email that file to the 3D printer here in Rwanda, and then the community members can do some more prototyping and see if we get it right.

[Video: A close-up of Racek as he shows a group of Rwandan teachers and an Indiana University doctoral student how to use the 3D printer. They watch him intently.]

[Video: The Rwandan teachers study pieces of the 3D printer and learn how to operate the machine.]

[Video: Racek, the Indiana University doctoral student and the Rwandan teacher, smile and wave for a group photo.]

Racek speaks: The teachers were really excited about the possibility. What got me really excited is the fact that they understood what we were trying to do. They may not understand all parts of the technology yet -- they'll get there -- but what's important is that they understand the big picture, and how these different tools that we're going to be printing can actually help people.

Beyond 3D-printed arms

When it comes to any of his projects, Racek's goal is to create something that is sustainable in the communities he works in. That means materials need to be easily accessible, community members and benefactors put in sweat equity, and people are trained to be able to create/expand the projects themselves.

Knowing that children grow and will need adjustments to their prosthetic arms, Racek decided to partner with a local high school -- Apicur Secondary School -- to create a program he's calling Print Shop, which will train teachers and students on 3D printing.

The idea behind the program extends beyond making adjustments, or additional arms, for other children. Another goal is to create desperately needed items that are difficult to find or too expensive in Rwanda.

Racek trains teachers at Apicur how to use a 3D printer.

"The prosthetic hand was sort of my first attempt at making really impactful work using 3D printing," Racek said. "My hope for this project is that by giving people this technology and training them on how to use it, they will create some local solutions. They will be empowered to design and print their own work."

Racek delivered a printer and materials to the school over the summer. He worked with Apicur teachers and IU student Simon Munyaneza, a native of Rwanda, to come up with items that might be useful, such as protractors, builder squares and a corn sheller, and provided prototypes of those items.

Such seemingly basic items have the potential to make a profound impact on people's lives, Racek said. For instance, families in Rwanda who grow and sell corn take the corn kernels off by hand, a 15- to 20-minute process. That means that everyone in the family has to pitch in during harvest time, leaving other things like school to sometimes fall by the wayside. The corn sheller takes the kernels off in about 30 seconds.

The plan is to have teachers and students come up with ideas. Racek's design students in Bloomington will create a prototype and then email that file to the printer in Rwanda. The teachers and students at Apicur will just have to print it.

Apicur teacher Simpson Ahimbisibwe, who had never seen a 3D printer before his training this summer, was impressed with the ideas Racek and Munyaneza came up with for it.

"They are amazing," he said. "You see the printed things which can be used, like the corn sheller. You see it is a most evolved thing for agriculturalists, but you cannot find it readily on the market. I think that one is very important for us, most especially those who live in the villages."

While the printing project is still in its infancy, Racek hopes it will have a ripple effect on the community as a whole.

"I think this project has lots of benefits," he said. "One is to get people specialized tools that will make their life easier. Another is to expose high school students to this 21st-century technology. And third, there'll be an entrepreneurial aspect to this project. We're trying to make it sustainable, so the school will be selling the objects that they make. And in turn they'll be able to buy more material, they'll be able to scale up the project. So hopefully it continues to grow and impact everyone involved."